If your phone shows a 3G icon in the top left of the screen:

1. Dial *3001#12345#* on the keypad and press call.
2. Select “UMTS Cell Environment”
3. Select “UMTS RR Info
4. If the uplink frequency is a number between 4132 and 4233, your phone is using the 800/850MHz Band. If the uplink frequency is a number between 9262 and 9538, your phone is using the 1900MHz band.

If your phone shows no 3G icon in the top left of the screen:

1. Dial *3001#12345#* on the keypad and press call.
2. Select “GSM Cell Environment”
3. Select “UMTS Network Information
4. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and find the ARFCN
5. If your ARFCN is between 128 and 251, then your phone is using the 800/850MHz band. If your ARFCN is between 512 and 810, then your phone is using the 1900MHz band.

In collaboration with Repeaterstore.eu, our European based sister company, Repeaterstore is proud to announce a new database of worldwide mobile phone frequency information. Now anyone around the world can easily find a suitable repeater to boost their mobile phone signal!

The database has aggregated information on over 200 countries around the world and transformed it into a very simple to use interface. To use the database, you simply select the country you are located in, then select the Service Provider that your mobile phone uses. The database can tell you what frequency that Service Provider operates their network on and will link you directly to the repeaters we have that work on those frequencies.

Try it out: Repeater Store Worldwide Mobile Phone Frequency Tool

Side Note: In the US, the licensed cell phone frequencies are 800/850MHz and 1900MHz, and all US networks operate somewhere within these bands. For most of the rest of the world however, the Mobile Phone Networks operate on the 900MHz & 1800MHz frequency bands and repeaters must be made especially for those frequencies. You can find these 900/1800MHz repeaters at RepeaterStore.eu. For standard US 800/1900MHz Repeaters try our Top Cell Phone Repeaters on Repeaterstore.com

The zBoost YX500-CEL Premium kit includes an upgraded YX026-CEL Yagi Antenna, and the YX500-PCS Premium Kit includes the YX023-PCS panel antenna.

News Flash >> Starting Today, August 1st ‘07 the Spotwave Z1900 has taken a permanent price cut to $299 following the success of the temporary $100 discount that has been operating for the past month.

With a system gain of +63 dB the Spotwave Z1900 is one of the stronger amplifiers in its price range. The amplifier also features a modern and attractive design so you won’t want to hide it away in the corner of the room. The Spotwave Z1900 comes as a full repeater kit with everything you need to improve your cell phone recelption, including antennas, cables, power supply, mounting equipment and of course the Z1900 amplifier.

Networks operating on the 1900 MHz frequency band include Sprint and T-mobile. In addition to this, Verizon and Cingular operate the majority of their 3G data services on 1900 MHz, so the Spotwave Z1900 should improve the performance of 3G data cards operating on the Cingular or Verizon network. However, Cingular and Verizon only use the 1900 MHz for voice coverage in a small amount of areas. For more information on Cellular Network Frequency usage visit our cell phone repeater buyer guide, or contact us.

Buy it now or find out more on the Spotwave Z1900 product page – click here.

Users of the iPhone have discovered that the phone has a very comprehensive “Field Test” mode that allows users to find out a range of information about the phone’s connection to the network. In particular, the information displayed in the Field Test mode allows users to discover exactly which tower their phone is connecting to, and which frequency band the signals are being sent on.

Here are some simple instructions to find out which frequency your iPhone is using:

1. Access the iPhone’s Field Test mode by typing *3001#12345#* in the phone’s keypad and press dial. This will bring up the Field Test menu.

2. Select the “Cell Information” menu option to display a summary of all nearby towers. The “RX” code displays the signal strength of each tower. These RX values are dBm signal strength readings, where lower values means strong signal (so -60 signifies stronger signal than -80). The towers are listed by signal strength, and the top tower is usually the tower your phone is connecting to.

3. Selecting the first tower will take you to a further menu that displays more specific information. The “Freq” value shows the frequency block that the network is using. If the Freq number is between 128 and 251, the tower is using the 850 MHz Cellular band. If the Freq number is between 512 and 810, the tower is using the 1900MHz PCS band.

Cellular signals in the US are broadcast on two frequencies, either the 800MHz frequency or the 1900MHz frequency. The 800MHz frequency is also regularly referred to as the 850MHz frequency. This is because signals are actually broadcast on bands ranging from 824–849MHz to 869–894MHz. 800MHz and 850MHz is the accepted shorthand for these frequencies, and whenever you encounter them you can be assured they refer to the same thing.

Some networks, like T-Mobile or Cricket, will use only one frequency (1900MHz in this case) for all their services across the US. All customers can be assured that only a single-band repeater will be required.

Unfortunately, other providers are much more confusing. Some use a mixture of 800 and 1900MHz bands. Verizon, for example, use the 800MHz band for their voice services in most of the US, but in some areas, notably much of Texas and Florida, it uses the 1900MHz band. In all other areas 1900MHz is used for broadband.

The situation with Cingular is even more complicated. Since their merger with AT&T, they use a complete mix of frequencies across the US. Most of their voice services use the 800MHz, with exceptions in North and South Carolina, but this is by no means a hard and fast rule. Cingular hold licences for both frequencies in many areas, and often use both.

The source for some of this confusion lies in the irregular expansion of cellular providers in what is still a relatively young industry. Companies bought licences to use particular frequency bands in certain parts of the country. When providers merged, as with AT&T and Cingular recently, their licences did not always line up with each other. Many licences are now redundant, or overlap within areas.

This means that some customers may find a single-band repeater is not enough to solve their coverage problem. There are two main situations in which a customer might need to purchase a dual-band repeater.

The first is when a household uses two or more cell phones, on networks using different frequency bands. For example, if you are with T-Mobile, but your son or daughter’s network is Alltel, you may be using both the 800 and 1900MHz frequencies. If you wish to improve coverage for both phones, you will need a dual-band repeater.

Additionally, if you wish to improve both broadband data services and voice services, you may need a dual-band repeater. Our FAQ pages have more information on how cell phone repeaters do not just improve call quality and reduce dropped calls; they also help to speed up data transfer rates with broadband services. Many networks use the same frequency band for both cell phone signal and wireless cellular data cards (for example, Sprint). Other networks use different frequencies for both (like Verizon). Still others use different bands in some areas and the same band elsewhere (Cingular). If you wish to improve both services, you may need a dual band repeater.